This invention relates to automotive vehicle seat oonstruction and more particularly to a separable hinge assembly for a folding seat cushion enabling the seat cushion to be readily removed from the vehicle when the cushion is pivoted to an intermediate position between a normal seating position and a forwardly folded stowed position.
The use of automobile seats which are convertible to a folded stowable position is well known in the design of vehicles such as vans, sport utility trucks, station wagons and the like to provide increased riding or cargo space. An example of one such arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,609 issued Apr. 23, 1985 to Parsson which shows means for rearranging a back seat cushion in a passenger car. The Parsson seat cushion is articulately connected via an L-shaped link to the vehicle body for arrangement between a normal sitting position and a retracted substantially vertical loading position.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,577 issued Aug. 19, 1986 to Hirama et al. discloses an automotive folding seat adapted to be retracted to provide a wider entrance space for passengers. The seat back can be folded onto a seat cushion and the seat in its entirety can be pivoted to a retracted position wherein the seat cushion is aligned vertically with the seat back folded onto the seat cushion.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,989 issued Oct. 20, 1987 to Ercilla discloses a foldable vehicle seat which is also removable. The seat structure comprises front legs and rear legs, each of the legs including a fork member and arranged to cooperate with a fixed attachment rod of a frame. A movable lock member is provided on each leg for locking a leg on its corresponding attachment rod. Return biasing means urge each of the lock members into its locked position. Manually operated means actuate each of the lock members into its unlocked position, against the return biasing means, to release the seat legs from the corresponding attachment rods.